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He left the field early against Argentina in Nelson for a head injury assessment before returning 10 minutes later. The only time he was replaced in 2018 was in the 58th minute in Buenos Aires.

In the forwards Scott Barrett played 2,107 minutes of rugby for the Crusaders and the All Blacks across the season.

Barrett made 239 tackles this year according to Opta across his 17 Super Rugby games and 13 tests. Like Smith, Scott Barrett played every minute of the three-test series against France earlier in the year before clocking more than 400 minutes in the Rugby Championship.

Rieko Ioane (1,992) and Beauden Barrett (1,946) also put in plenty of time this season while Barrett's Crusaders teammate Sam Whitelock was the next ranked forward playing 1,905 minutes of rugby, making 252 tackles.

Barrett, TJ Perenara, Ardie Savea and Karl Tuinukuafe are the only players who got on the field in 13 tests this year. Although all four were used as substitutes across the year.